Police: 20 people involved in Thai bomb attacks

Thai police on Monday said at least 20 people were involved in carrying out a wave of deadly bombings in the country’s south earlier this month.

National police chief Jakthip Chaijinda said that police have not ruled out any motive for the attacks and believe that many of those involved came from Thailand’s Muslim-majority southern provinces. “We know where they came from, where they went. We believe there are at least 20 people involved in this network,” Jakthip told reporters, without giving further details.

No group has claimed responsibility for the Aug. 11 and Aug. 12 attacks which took place in seven provinces and targeted high profile beach towns, killing four people and injuring dozens. The bombings came days after Thais voted to accept a military-backed constitution in a nation-wide referendum. Police and the government ruled out any link to foreign militants within hours of the attacks and insisted the perpetrators were home-grown.

Jakthip said that he could not confirm whether the bombings were an extension of an insurgency in the southern provinces that border Malaysia, where Malay-Muslim insurgents are fighting a bloody war that has claimed more than 6,500 lives since 2004. (Reuters)